


Things that Stay the Same

by Goldy



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2014-07-12
Packaged: 2018-02-08 12:11:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1940586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldy/pseuds/Goldy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU Post-The Stolen Earth. What if Ten had regenerated?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things that Stay the Same

**Title** : Things that Stay the Same  
 **Disclaimer** : Nothing from Doctor Who belongs to me. Not even the evil laugh. That is all RTD’s.  
 **Pairing** : Eleven/Rose  
 **Summary** : Post-The Stolen Earth. Just as she’s found him again, Rose has to deal with a new incarnation of the Doctor.  
 **Spoilers** : 4x12 The Stolen Earth as well as minor casting spoilers for 4x13. If you’ve seen the BBC promo pictures for 4x13, you’re good.  
 **Rating** : PG  
 **Word Count** : 2,212  
 **A/N** : I’ve _really_ got to stop writing post-ep fics that are about to be Jossed. Especially since I refuse to believe that Ten is _actually_ regenerating. *sticks fingers in ears and hums*

HUGE thanks to [](http://mrv3000.livejournal.com/profile)[**mrv3000**](http://mrv3000.livejournal.com/) for the beta and for being a sounding board. And also for keeping me sane. *SMOOCH*

**************

The TARDIS might be infinitely large, but with Donna, Jack and now Gwen, Ianto, and Sarah Jane packed onboard, the console room suddenly feels a bit crowded. Rose can barely even see the Doctor through the mass of people. They're all talking at once and Rose stands back, tears still drying on her cheeks.

“He looked different on the vidscreen,” says Gwen. “How’s this possible? Jack?”

“Oh, who cares?” Ianto mutters. “Can’t we just be glad we’re alive? I’m glad.”

“You _came_ ,” Sarah Jane says. “Of course you came. Although, come to think of it, maybe you should have taken the time for a nice lie-down? Regenerations don’t always go smoothly for you, do they? Now is not the time for amnesia.”

Rose curls her fingers into a fist and chokes back her tears. She spies her gun lying on the floor and stoops down to pick it up, slinging it over her shoulder. That helps. A bit. She tries to carefully arrange her face into a neutral expression.

The Doctor hunches over the console, and she dodges around Donna to really _look_ at him. His new body barely fits into his old clothes—the button holes on his jacket are splitting and his trousers are almost in tatters. He’s shorter than he was, and she can tell he’s accustoming himself to the TARDIS’s controls again. He twists each one methodically before standing back and scratching at a thick, dark crop of hair on his head.

Donna seems to be thinking the same thing. “I’ve got to find him better clothes,” she says. She sounds collected again, almost teasing, and Rose opens her mouth to try and do the same thing.

Before she can say anything, the TARDIS jerks into motion and Rose strains to hold on. She hears Donna give a shriek of surprise from down the corridor.

“Is it supposed to do that?” Gwen asks in alarm.

“Sorry!” says the Doctor. “New reflexes. Might need some time to adjust. I’ve got to say, these fingers aren’t half bad. Bit stronger than what I’m used to.”

“Oh, just try and stop me from commenting on that,” says Jack. He winks in the direction of his team. “We managed to rescue you two, didn’t we?”

“Now _that_ was just good luck,” says the Doctor. He pulls up on the handbrake.

“That’s very comforting, thanks—” Ianto manages before they all tumble to the floor.

Rose lands awkwardly on top of her gun, wincing as her cheek hits the grating. Her teeth slam together and she shakes her head to clear it before gingerly climbing back to her feet. Around her, she can see everyone else doing the same. Jack stretches out a crick in his neck. Ianto holds out a hand to pull Gwen up.

“Whoops, sorry,” says the Doctor. “Apparently I’m not very good at landings.”

“That hasn’t changed, don’t worry,” says Sarah Jane. “Where are we?”

“Martha’s,” says the Doctor. “We’re going to need her. And that key.”

“Gang’s all here,” says Jack, beginning to grin. “Nothing can stop us now.”

Donna comes crashing back into the console room. “I brought clothes!” she declares to no one in particular. She dumps a pile of clothes at the Doctor’s feet. “Mostly black—depressing, I know, but it’ll look good on you. Just… get that suit off, will you?”

“It is a bit horrific,” Gwen agrees.

The Doctor bends down to study the clothing. _He should be wearing his glasses_ , Rose thinks with a jolt—but of course he doesn’t need them, not in this body. “Is that…” he says after a moment, “a _turtleneck_?”

“Oi!” says Donna. “It’s the best I could do on short notice. How about next time you _tell_ me before you go and change bodies?”

Donna's hand hovers in mid-air like she's thinking about smacking him, but she seems to change her mind at the last second and instead throws her arms around him in a hug.

"Oof," says the Doctor. "I'm fine. See? Fine. One-hundred percent fine. Grew a new head and everything."

Rose shifts uncomfortably and looks away. She can’t stop herself from feeling like that’s supposed to be _her_ hug.

“Okay, yeah, very touching,” Jack says. “But we’ve still got the end of the world to deal with here, people.”

“Good point,” says the Doctor. He extracts himself from Donna’s grip and runs to the door. He holds it open. No one moves. Raising his eyebrows, he gestures with his arm, “After you lot. Take your time, then.”

They all scurry forward. After a second of indecision, Rose moves to follow them, but the Doctor abruptly slams the door shut and turns the lock.

Rose freezes in mid-step. She shifts the weight of her gun and sends him a questioning look. He clears his throat a few times and tries to look innocent.

Someone bangs on the door from outside. “Doctor?” It’s Jack. “Doctor, what the hell is going on?”

“I’m taking Donna’s advice,” he calls back. “A change of clothes is in order, I think. It won’t take long. Say hello to Francine for me.”

“You remember the end of the universe?” This time it’s Sarah Jane. “The Daleks? You don’t have amnesia, do you?”

The Doctor rolls his eyes. Sounding impatient, he says, “Let’s see, we’re one second out of sync with the universe, the Daleks somehow managed to unlock the Time War—which is impossible—and the square root of 9,083 is approximately 95.30477. I’d say, memory is working like a charm. Just… go and have a cup of tea. And try not to panic too much. We’ll be there in a jiffy.”

The Doctor taps his hand impatiently against his thigh, but there’s only silence from outside the TARDIS. Shrugging, he strides back to the pile of clothes, crouching down to examine them.

Rose stares at him in silence. He hasn’t forgotten about her, has he? _He’s still the same man_ , she reminds herself. They’ve been through this before. Maybe he doesn’t know what to say. Or maybe the regeneration _has_ made him sick. Or _maybe_ he just doesn’t feel the same way about her anymore.

No—oh, no, it doesn’t work like that. He’d looked so _happy_ when he saw her. That wouldn’t change, would it?

“I’m sorry.”

The Doctor’s voice startles her and Rose jumps, gun banging uncomfortably against her side. She blinks at him and notices for the first time that he’s sorting through the pile of clothes with a vague, detached look like he’s not really seeing any of them.

Her heart begins to beat a bit faster. “About what?” she manages. “It’s not exactly your fault that you got shot by a Dalek.”

He manages a tight smile, idly picking up what looks to be an old-fashioned vest from the 1800s. Rose is relieved when he sets it down a moment later. “That’s not… it’s not how I wanted things to go.”

Rose swallows. “How did you want things to go?”

“Well… I…” the Doctor begins with difficulty, looking for a second like he might scratch at his ear. Then, evidently deciding he doesn’t do that anymore in this incarnation, he drops his hand back down to his side.

Rose carefully deposits her gun back on the grating. Straightening, she takes one cautious step forward. Then another. The Doctor gives up any pretense of sorting through the clothes and straightens, watching her quietly. She wishes he would say something—that he’d go and babble at her like he used to. She knows it’s still him, knows better than anyone, but she wishes he’d give her a _sign_ , just something to tell her he still feels the same way.

He opens his arms.

Rose almost laughs. She lurches forward the rest of the way, practically collapsing against him. The first thing she notices is that his chest is wider and that her ear is even with his shoulder instead of his heart. But then his arms wrap around her and he hugs her tightly, whispering her name in her ear and she tells herself to stop comparing. It’s the Doctor. He’s still hers.

“Hi,” he says. His accent is almost the same, but his voice is deeper than it used to be. It reverberates through her ear, down to her toes and makes her shiver. Yeah, she could get used to that.

Instead of answering, she hugs him tighter, burying her face into his shoulder. He squeezes her middle, one hand trailing over her hair.

“Oh, this is nice,” he says. “Very… nice.”

She feels herself smile. It’s not quite the elation she felt when she first saw him again, but it’s close. “Yeah?”

“Yes,” says the Doctor brusquely. He pulls away and takes her by the shoulders, staring intently into her eyes. “Now, Rose, I know I can trust you to tell me the truth—how do I look?”

A laugh bubbles out of her and the Doctor frowns, looking a bit panicked. She clamps a hand over her mouth. “Some things never change, do they?” she manages.

He gives her a long look, but only says, “No, some things don’t.”

The intensity of his gaze makes her mouth go dry, but she clears her throat and only says, “You’re different, but it’s not bad. Definitely… not bad.”

He looks buoyed by the compliment. She thinks he even puffs out his chest. "How's my hair? It feels thick. Is it thick?”

“It’s nice,” Rose says. “Sort of… floppy. Like… I dunno, a rockstar or something.”

“Really?” he says, smirking, which immediately makes Rose wish she had left that part out.

“Donna’s right, though,” Rose says quickly. “You’re gonna want to put on some new clothes.”

The smirk doesn’t disappear, but he does bend down to rifle through the clothes again, emerging with the black turtleneck. He stares at it dubiously.

“It’s nice,” Rose says. She reaches out to finger one of the sleeves. “It’s soft. Good for hugging.”

“Excellent point,” he says, and she can hear joy in his voice. It makes her want to throw her arms around him again. He glances down at himself and says, “I really liked this suit.”

Sudden tears spring back into Rose’s eyes. “Me, too,” she whispers.

The Doctor glances at her in alarm. “Oh, Rose, don’t—”

“I’m sorry,” she says, wiping at her cheeks. She forces herself to smile. “I’m so happy. I am. Thing is, you’re right here, but I’m missing you all the same and it’s just… it’s really, really weird.”

He reaches out to wipe away her tears with his thumb, fingers brushing against her cheek. He’s right—his fingers _are_ bigger this time around. Rougher, too, but Rose leans into the touch, letting her eyes drift shut. She breathes in deeply.

“It’s still me,” he whispers.

“I know.”

“And I still… I…”

Rose’s eyes flutter open as he trails off. He pulls his hand back and she grabs his wrist, searching his face. “Still what?”

He hesitates and then says, “It’s really good to have you back. Jack’s right. Unstoppable, that’s us.”

“Unstoppable,” Rose repeats. She grins and points to their feet. “So, you gonna put that thing on or not?”

He looks baffled, but then snaps to attention. “Right. New clothes.” He holds up the turtleneck and then glances at her, suddenly looking embarrassed.

Rose’s grin widens. He’s _blushing_ , actually and really blushing. “I’ll just… turn around, then?”

“If you’d like,” the Doctor says, obviously trying for nonchalance and not doing a very good job. He’s still blushing when Rose turns around.

She hears him shuffling around and she folds her arms across her chest, shifting from one foot to the other. Finally, he clears his throat.

Rose turns back around and the Doctor watches her eagerly. The turtleneck suits his slightly larger frame. She nods.

The Doctor grins proudly at her, hair flopping into his eyes as his face relaxes. Rose reaches out one hand to brush it away, but they’re interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

“Doctor? Doctor, you in there? It's Martha. Mum’s going mad with all these people in her lounge. Are you ever going to come out? I promise not to laugh, if that's what you're worried about.”

"Be right there. Just... getting undressed now." He calls out. Then he frowns. "That didn't come out right."

Rose tries not to smirk. "Oi, there will be time for that later," she says. "We've got Daleks to look after at the moment, yeah?"

The Doctor gapes at her, momentarily speechless. "I... that would be...." he begins. "I mean, I'd like to..."

"Yeah, listen," Rose interrupts. "I'll go talk to Martha. You’ve got to find a pair of trousers that’ll match that shirt.”

The Doctor hesitates. “I don’t know if that’s such…”

“Trust me, it’ll be fine,” Rose says brightly. She pats him on the shoulder and then bends down to retrieve her gun. She heads towards the door, stopping to call over her shoulder. “By the way, did I mention that Mickey's on his way? Said he wanted to help. Oh. And my Mum.”

She hears a crash and an “Oomff” from behind her. Rose smirks and opens the TARDIS door. No, some things really _don’t_ ever change.


End file.
